Difference between revisions of "South Holland"

Revision as of 22:23, 27 August 2011

South Holland [1] (Dutch: Zuid-Holland) is a province in the Netherlands.

Regions

South-Holland consists of the southern half of the historic County of Holland. It can roughly be divided into 6 regions:

Regions of South-Holland

Bulb Region This area's landscape is renowned for it's enormous flower fields, considered typical for the country. The Keukenhof is visited by millions of travelers each year.

Green Heart In the middle of the Randstad conurbation lies the Green Heart, a green agricultural zone between the four big cities. The countryside offers flat polders, canals and lakes, which can be explored on foot, by bicycle or by boat.

Haaglanden The Hague is the political heart of the country with numerous attractions like the Binnenhof, the Royal Palace and Madurodam. Interesting towns lie around it, such as the historic Delft with it's blue-white ceramics and Scheveningen with it's beach.

Rijnmond Greater Rotterdam is an economic and urban giant with the largest port of Europe. Plenty of modern architecture awaits you, as well as good restaurants and nightlife.

Alblasserwaard-Drechtsteden Flat polders surrounded by rivers, a typical Dutch scenery as shown by the renowned Kinderdijk windmills.

South Hollandic Islands The islands Voorne-Putten and Goeree-Overflakkee are a good destination for water sports, but also for hikers and cyclists. Historic towns like Brielle, Hellevoetsluis and Middelharnis can be found here.

Cities

• The Hague — judicial capital of the world, seat of the government and plenty of attractions
• Alphen aan den Rijn — one of the oldest cities of the Netherlands with prehistoric remains and museums
• Delft — old city famous for its Delftware ceramics
• Dordrecht — historic city with numerous museums
• Gouda — historical city famous for its Gouda cheese and the cheese market
• Leiden — vibrant student town with the oldest university of the country
• Rotterdam — Europe's largest port, modern architecture and an impressive skyline
• Schiedam — historical city known for its jenever, a Dutch alcoholic drink, and the five largest windmills of the world
• Zoetermeer — A typical suburbian city, which exploded from 10.000 inhabitants in 1962 to 120.000 inhabitants currently

Other destinations

Kinderdijk

• Biesbosch National Park — one of the last freshwater tide areas in Europe
• Kaag Lakes — water sports, walking, fishing, sailing and swimming
• Keukenhof — each spring more than 800,000 tourists visit the Keukenhof
• Kinderdijk — these mills show the typical Dutch landscape in all it's glory
• Nieuwkoop Lakes — the lakes offer lots of opportunities for water sports
• Noordwijk — historical city with a nice beach and dunes
• Noordwijkerhout — heart of the Bulb Region, carnival and close to the North Sea
• Scheveningen — largest and most popular beach of the country, officially a district of The Hague

Understand

Get in

Get around

See

• The windmills of Kinderdijk (on the Unesco heritage list)

Itineraries

Do

• Go sailing on the Kager Plassen.
• Go cycling through the polders or the coastal dunes or from historic town to historic town.

Eat

Drink

Stay safe

Get out